Summary

The Bonsai Japanese Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, NY is one of the best places to go in the Hudson Valley if you are looking for great sushi. There really is no other restaurant in the area that compares with their sushi menu and I would highly suggest the “David Roll” if you are looking for something a little different with a kick. Other than sushi, their menu is a little lacking with not as many cooked dishes as some other Japanese restaurants in the area.

Sushi

The sushi is why you will want to go to Bonsai. Their rolls are all fresh and their specialty rolls are unique and very well made. You can expect to spend roughly 12 to 25 dollars per person for dinner depending on the amount of sushi you like and if you want any specialty rolls. I would highly recommend the dinner or lunch specials to anyone looking to get a little better deal. On weeknights, the happy hour special for sushi and regular rolls also makes your meal a little more economical than it otherwise might be. Bonsai offers all of the standard types of fish for their rolls and individual pieces, my favorites being the salmon and yellowtail.

The presentation of the sushi is also top notch. The sushi chef’s are always very good at arranging your order in an attractive manner in accordance with the amount of sushi ordered. There are no fake garnishes on the plate, just tastefully arranged sushi which is exactly what you want when ordering these types of dishes.

Atmosphere

Overall the atmosphere has a slightly modern vibe to it with pop music playing in the background. The restaurant is small, seating only about 20 people on the inside and with room for about another 10 more outside on nice days. The wait staff are generally friendly but don’t expect a lot of small talk or conversation, they are efficient and mean business so don’t be surprised if they don’t linger at your table. While some may find this to be a turn off, I don’t mind this aspect of the dining experience. When I go out to eat, I would rather spend the time talking to the company at the table rather than to the wait staff and Bonsai’s approach allows me to do this.

The Curse of Being a Dreamer

I had the chance to to just sit and think for a while over the holiday weekend and I found myself on the topic of being a dreamer. When I say dreamer, I mean the type of person who constantly finds themselves thinking of the next thing to do and getting excited about it. When I say dreamer I also mean the type of person that gets excited about the next big idea but doesn’t have the will or discipline to follow through with the idea.

I of course am acutely aware that I fall into this dreamer category in some cases. Technology fascinates me and I am always finding myself trying to think of ways I can harness it into doing something more. How can I use technology to to work for me? How can I use technology to not only pay the bills but also allow me to continually think of new ways to use it? I could sit and think about these ideas all day but when it comes to putting those ideas in motion, that is where the process becomes more difficult. The translation from idea into an executable plan is one of the most difficult phases in any business venture and one where the dreamer tends to be the most in need of guidance.

The question then becomes how can a dreamer become someone who can not only have the ideas but execute on them as well? I need to have a strategy in this regard and I am looking for any helpful hints that I can. I need to keep growing my skills and would love to find more resources to learn from.

This is a project I’ve been working on for six years - a replica linking book from the video game Myst.

Inside the book is a full desktop computer, completely self-contained without any external wires or hardware. In the above photo, the embedded screen isn’t just showing a still photo or a video: it’s running a full copy of real Myst PC edition. On board is a copy of all the Myst games. It’s fast enough it plays all of them smoothly (even End of Ages at ~30fps). You play the games by touching the touch-screen.

Awesome

While I realize the acting is maybe not the best, Act of Valor is a poignant reminder of what sacrifices we ask of our service members. While I have not served and not do I anticipate doing so, the respect I have for those that do cannot be overstated. When you see a person in uniform, shake their hand, thank them and reassure them that they will always have a grateful nation to come home to.

Gearing up for the #frankenstorm

Windows 8 ships today to consumers. Any predictions? I think I may buy it and then hold off on the install for a bit until other people
find the bugs.

I can tell you that I have 600 PCs that won’t be moving to it right now.

My prediction - consumers will buy it sporadically, businesses will hold off as many will have software not ready for it and wait for Windows 9. Windows 8 tablets will maybe pickup 5% to 10% market share eventually.

I wonder how long hotel chains will wait to switch out their radios with 30 pin iPhone dock connectors to those with lightning connectors. Or will they do the sensible thing and just go to Bluetooth and avoid the connector mess all together?

Had an interesting discussion about the future of the credit union industry this evening. Should be interesting to see how things look in 15 years.